Fibromyalgia (formerly known as fibrositis) is a chronic condition that
causes pain, stiffness, and tenderness of the muscles, tendons, and joints.
Fibromyalgia is also characterized by restless sleep, awakening feeling tired,
fatigue, anxiety, depression, and disturbances in bowel function. While
fibromyalgia is one of the most common diseases affecting the muscles, its cause
is currently unknown. The painful tissues involved are not accompanied by tissue
inflammation. Therefore, despite potentially disabling body pain, patients with
fibromyalgia do not develop body damage or deformity. Fibromyalgia also does not
cause damage to internal body organs. Therefore, fibromyalgia is different from
many other rheumatic conditions (such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus,
and polymyositis). In those diseases, tissue inflammation is the major cause of
pain, stiffness, and tenderness of the joints, tendons, and muscles, and leads
to joint deformity and damage to the internal organs or muscles. Since the
symptoms of fibromyalgia are diverse and vary among patients, treatment programs
must be individualized. Treatment programs are most effective when they combine
patient education, stress reduction, regular exercise, and medications. Recent
studies have verified that the best outcome for each patient results from a
combination of approaches that involves the patient in customization of the
treatment plan.